Giants’ weird, wild rallies put them 1 win from World Series

Updated 9:45 am, Thursday, October 16, 2014

The Giants-Cardinals series has provided the essence of grand theater, rich in heroes and villains. It has given us heartbreak and exultation, even slapstick comedy. And now it gives us Game 5, with something rather special on the line.

The World Series.

In the wake of their 6-4 victory against St. Louis on Wednesday night, before a raucous crowd of 43,147 at AT&T Park, the Giants have a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series. They can almost taste it: their third World Series in five years. They know how it feels, how it wraps around the soul. Another sellout gathering will be on hand for Thursday night’s Game 5 to see if all comes true.

And how delightfully refreshing, in a series that has made so little sense, that Madison Bumgarner will be the starting pitcher.

Bumgarner’s October resume is nothing short of historic. He holds the all-time record for consecutive scoreless postseason innings pitched on the road (262/3), a streak still in progress. Now he’ll have a horde of orange-and-black-clad spectators roaring on his every pitch. But it’s so much more than that.